Radio technologies in cellular communications have grown rapidly and evolved since the launch of analog cellular systems in the 1980s, starting from the First Generation (1G) in 1980s, Second Generation (2G) in 1990s, Third Generation (3G) in 2000s, and Fourth Generation (4G) in 2010s (including Long Term Evolution (LTE) and variants of LTE). Fifth generation (5G) access networks, which can also be referred to as New Radio (NR) access networks, are currently being developed and expected to fulfill the demand for exponentially increasing data traffic, and to handle a very wide range of use cases and requirements, including among others mobile broadband (MBB) and machine type communications (e.g., involving Internet of Things (IOT) devices).
In the face of advancements in networking, the long-standing issue of battery consumption by user equipment (UEs) can have a direct impact on the user experience. At the device level, “power saving mode” or “battery saving mode” is an optimization scheme widely adopted in different smart phone operation systems. The operation system (OS) of the UE identifies the remaining charge left in the battery, and when the battery level is below a certain threshold, the OS triggers a power saving mode causing the UE to perform certain actions on the device to prolong the battery life (or slow down the battery's drain). Currently, UEs in power saving mode can prolong battery life by reducing the animation effect, lowering the screen brightness, closing device applications, preventing device applications from running (e.g., not allowing the camera to be used when the battery charge is too low), or reducing the network inquiries for all applications (e.g., notifications, etc.).
The above-described background relating to wireless networks is merely intended to provide a contextual overview of some current issues, and is not intended to be exhaustive. Other contextual information may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.